Progressive Bureaucracy: An Oxymoron? The Case of Joint Forest Management in India

Abstract

"In 1989, the Government of West Bengal, India formalised joint forest management (JFM) in this region. Through JFM considerable progress has been made in (a) establishing joint management arrangements between communities and the Forest Department at the local level, and (b) actual forest regeneration. There are two conventional explanations for the policy shift. One focuses on the leadership of a few progressive senior forest officers; and the other on spontaneous community initiative. A third important factor has been ignored â?? the supportive role played by the Association of the front-line workers of the Forest Department. The paper illustrates how the Associationâ??s support helped the diffusion of JFM in Southwest Bengal as well as helping communities overcome collective action problems."